On Sunday, November 25, 2012, Polk County Sheriff's Traffic Homicide Investigators arrested 29-year-old Christopher A. Koenig, DOB 9/19/1983, of 4048 Byrds Crossing Drive in Lakeland, and charged him with one count Leaving the Scene of a Crash Involving Death (F-1), and one count DUI Causing Death (F-1).

According to the affidavit, around 1:40 a.m. this morning, Koenig and a friend had just left the Paddy Wagon Irish Pub in Lakeland and were traveling in Koenig's 2012 black Ford F-150 truck eastbound on CR 540-A, east of Hallam Preserve Blvd in Lakeland, when the truck, which was being driven by Koenig, struck 16-year-old Blake Dowdy of 1100 Oakbridge Parkway in Lakeland. Dowdy and a friend were walking westbound along the southern shoulder of CR 540-A at the time.

After the truck struck Dowdy, it did not slow down, brake, or stop, but instead fled the scene, as witnessed by the friend. Dowdy was thrown approximately 87 feet into the drainage ditch south of the roadway. Despite efforts by EMS, Dowdy was declared deceased on scene.

Approximately 40 minutes later, Koenig called the PCSO Emergency Communications Center and told dispatchers that he hit someone in his truck while driving home from the bar. He also told the dispatcher that he had been drinking at the bar.

Deputies responded to Koenig's home, where they took him into custody. Koenig exhibited signs of having consumed alcohol, and deputies took blood from Koenig. The blood sample is being sent to the FDLE lab for analysis. Deputies placed Koenig under arrest, and he has been booked into the Polk County Jail on the aforementioned charges.

"Christopher Koenig has taken the life of a teenaged boy because he refused to take a cab or get a ride home from the bar. Now he will have to suffer the consequences, and the Dowdy family will forever suffer from a tremendous loss. I can't stress this enough: DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE. The damage that you cause when you do is irreparable, and lasts a lifetime." - Sheriff Grady Judd